LHS Won’t start in Cold weather and Check engine light on.

Hi we have a 1996 Chrysler LHS that has its check engine light on. We took it to a mechanic and had the codes read and were told that their were multiple misfires. The mechanic replaced the spark plugs, a fuel injector, fuel filter, and it still didn?t fix the problem. So he told us it was the intake manifold gasket and we replaced that. The check engine light is still coming on. After we replaced the intake manifold gasket it idled much better, but now we have recently developed another problem. Besides the check engine light which is driving us nuts, it won?t start in cold weather. It cranks over, but no start. If the weather is warm it starts and runs great. We have tried putting heat in the gastank thinking maybe we might have a gasline that was freezing up and w e went out and got one of heater magnets hoping that would fix the problem...But it still will not start in cold weather. Any ideas on what might be the source of our problem???Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Reply to
jgcurt
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What are the codes? If the check engine light is on, the computer is storing a diagnostic code.

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Reply to
Bill D

He said it had multiple cylinder missfires set. I've been having trouble for years (yes, 4 years and about 70,000 miles) with my 96 GV occasionally stumbling after going down a hill and then starting up the other side, or after a fairly long curve. No codes were ever set and the dealer could never find anything wrong. This year it got worse and started missfiring badly at idle and often stalling completely. Then it would run fine for a few days to a few weeks and act up again. The only code that was routinely set was the multiple cylinder missfire code.

The dealer changed the fuel filter, cleaned the throttle body, replaced the plugs and wires, replaced the coil pack (it arced badly when they spritzed it with a water bottle), etc. Then about a month ago it finally set a different code, lean reading on the upstream O2 sensor. They finally figured that had found it. Replaced the sensor and a day later it acted up again. I twice had it towed to the dealership only to have it start up and run fine as soon as they rolled it off the truck.

I finally told the dealer to keep it and drive it until they could figure out what was really wrong. The did this with a pressure gauge attached to the fuel rail. It finally acted up for them and when it did the fuel pressure was low and erratic. They replaced the fuel pump and, knock on wood, it seems to have fixed the problem. Then again, I'm only on my second tank since getting it back so I'm not ready to declare victory, but it is looking good.

I have no idea what would cause a fuel pump to get flakey so slowly over so long a time and work fine one minute and then not at all the next, but that is appearing to be what happened.

I can't say that is the OP's problem, but it may be worth asking a good mechanic to put a pressure gauge on the fuel system and see what it reads when the car won't start.

Matt

Reply to
Matt Whiting

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Reply to
mic canic

Well, part of your problem is an incompetent mechanic who's guessing instead of diagnosing. Find a competent, capable mechanic who knows what he's doing and will systematically diagnose the fault(s), and you'll be most of the way to a quick, efficient repair.

DS

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

well since the coolant temp sensor is the choke for this thing, I would make sure it is connected. You may have had the misfire codes fixed with the intake manifold repair but someone may have damaged the connector or left it disconnected, How do you finally get it started? And when it does start does the engine fan run all the time?, See what codes are in it now Glenn Beasley Chrysler tech

Reply to
damnnickname

That was before the manifold fix. Multiple misfires are common with the manifold, but a no-start when cold and a check engine light sounds more like a temperature sensor, throttle position sensor, or maybe MAP sensor to me. There should be a code for those- certainly for a MAP sensor that never returns to atmospheric pressure prior to cranking.

Reply to
Steve

I have a 1996 3.5L Chrysler LHS with 91,000 and from the sound of it I have almost the same problem.

I have a ticking sound coming from the engine. The car has bad cold start, which has gotten worse after 5 bottles worth of fuel injector cleaner.

The fuel filter was replaced. The spark plugs were replaced, I pulled them, and all of them look clean. The car is drivable when it warms up, except, it now takes longer for that to happen.

It takes effort to start the car, it turns, but cuts out. After a couple of tries, 2 or 3, it runs for a few seconds with the fan running at the same time, and then cuts out. And after this, then, it actually runs. When it runs, warms up, the fan stops.

The check engine light has been on the whole time since I got this car after an accident at 86,000. I ignored the light because the car was drivable and I got decent gas mileage.

The ticking sound has become especially addible when I took the filter out to see if that was the problem. It sounds like a ?quiet? diesel.

I have enough engine oil when the car is warm, otherwise, it covers 2 out of 4 stars on the dip stick when it?s cold.

A friend told me my timing was off. It seems like a misfire in conjunction with bad compression, from pure conjecture only though.

I never had issues with the car after it warms up. The car is drivable, but I don?t know for how long.

Reply to
J-a-b

I have a 1996 3.5L Chrysler LHS with 91,000 and from the sound of it I have almost the same problem.

I have a ticking sound coming from the engine. The car has bad cold start, which has gotten worse after 5 bottles worth of fuel injector cleaner.

The fuel filter was replaced. The spark plugs were replaced, I pulled them, and all of them look clean. The car is drivable when it warms up, except, it now takes longer for that to happen.

It takes effort to start the car, it turns, but cuts out. After a couple of tries, 2 or 3, it runs for a few seconds with the fan running at the same time, and then cuts out. And after this, then, it actually runs. When it runs, warms up, the fan stops.

The check engine light has been on the whole time since I got this car after an accident at 86,000. I ignored the light because the car was drivable and I got decent gas mileage.

The ticking sound has become especially addible when I took the filter out to see if that was the problem. It sounds like a ?quiet? diesel.

I have enough engine oil when the car is warm, otherwise, it covers 2 out of 4 stars on the dip stick when it?s cold.

A friend told me my timing was off. It seems like a misfire in conjunction with bad compression, from pure conjecture only though.

I never had issues with the car after it warms up. The car is drivable, but I don?t know for how long.

Reply to
J-a-b

Ignoring the "Check Engine" light is a stupid thing to do. It very frequently means that you're increasing the extent of the damage, and the expense to fix it, as you blithely drive on.

Under your "care", not very long.

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

When it comes to the "check engine" light, all I was told, is that, it's nothing more than an emissions sensor. I know how to use tools, but, the only thing I know about cars is what I'm told. The car has various miscellaneous issues. The car was totaled at 86,000, so, the only thing that concerns me is what "the damage" is.

Potentially this is could be a lack of compression issue, which could mean, a worm out engine.

Reply to
J-a-b

Hmm, I'm starting to think it's the intake manifold gasket, which the addition of fuel injector cleaner aggravated.

I also noticed:

With the hood closed, the belt makes a lot of noise, for some reason. This is fairly recent.

One of the spark plug plastic plugs, looking straight at the front car, it's the closest left, the one not covered by the manifold (?): It's discolored, brown almost.

Reply to
J-a-b

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